Collegeville man convicted of 4th DUI faces prison term

But in telling a West Goshen police officer that he did not want to have his blood drawn following his arrest for driving under the influence, Nelson — unfortunately for him —opened the door to the possibility that he would spend a minimum of a year in state prison.

After his conviction Wednesday for his fourth DUI, following a two-day jury trial, that possibility has turned into a very real probability.

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Deputy District Attorney Thomas Ost-Prisco, the prosecutor who tried Nelson’s case, told Senior Judge Ronald Nagle that he would likely ask for a lengthier jail sentence than the mandatory one-year for Nelson, 35, of Collegeville, because of his long record of traffic violations. He was driving on a suspended license when a West Goshen officer pulled him over in April.

Nelson — whose first DUI arrest came, coincidentally, in West Goshen in 1997 — was led from Nagle’s courtroom by sheriff’s deputies in handcuffs after being found guilty of DUI by the eight men and four women on the jury that heard his case.

His attorney, Kevin Leckerman of Philadelphia, had argued that authorities had failed to prove that he was impaired the night of his arrest, or that he had refused the request to give a sample to test his blood-alcohol count at the Chester County Hospital, observers said.

Leckerman on Friday declined to comment on his client’s case. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

The case shows the risks that motorists pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence face for not agreeing to cooperate with police when asked to give a blood sample to determine how much alcohol is in their system.

The state Legislature has mandated that those who do not agree to a chemical test of their blood will face additional penalties for doing so — usually a longer period of suspension of their driving privileges. But it also declared that those who refuse a blood test are presumed under the law to fit into the highest BAC tier —0.16 percent or greater.

With that classification and a third DUI offense within 10 years – as Nelson has – comes the mandatory one-year minimum sentence, which must be served in a state correctional institution. Had Nelson’s blood been tested and a BAC level of .08 found, he would have faced a mandatory sentence of only 10 days in Chester County Prison; if it was between .12 and .16, the sentence would have been 90 days in county jail.

The case began at about 3:30 a.m. on April 22 when Sgt. Richard M. Geiger was stopped at the intersection of Airport Road and Greenhill Road near Route 202, and saw a black Mazda travel on Greenhill Road through a steady red light. He quickly pulled the driver over.

When he asked the driver, later identified as nelson, for his license and registration, the man gave him a state ID card and his registration and insurance information. He told Geiger that he did not have a license. When told he had run a red light, the man said he was following his sister on their way home to Collegeville.

Geiger, in a criminal complaint, said he could smell a strong odor of alcohol on the man’s breath. When asked how much he had had to drink, the man said, “Quite a bit,” Geiger stated.

At trial, Geiger described for the jury what had happened when Nelson was asked to perform field sobriety tests. On the “one-legged stand,” he lost his balance and had to hold himself up. On the “walk-and turn,” he again lost his balance, and instead of turning directly around, walked off at a right angle and then tried to walk backwards. Geiger said his gait was wobbly, and said he’d had six beers before getting behind the wheel.

Geiger’s testimony was corroborated by a second West Goshen officer, Matthew Grandizio, who is a certified DUI stop investigator.

At Nelson’s trial, his sister, Michelle Nelson, and a friend, Jakir Ricks, testified for the defense that they had been at a party in West Chester earlier that night and had then gone bar hopping at a number of clubs in the borough. Both said that they had not seen Nelson drink any great amount that night.

After being placed under arrest for DUI, Geiger took Nelson to Chester County Hospital. There, he refused to give any personal information, and said he wanted to speak with his attorney and his fiancé. When Geiger asked his permission to have a nurse draw blood, Nelson said would not grant it. Geiger asked him again, after reading him a form describing what could happen to him if he did not. Would he give his permission, Geiger asked?

“No, I want to speak with my fiancé,” Nelson said. “You don’t understand. If I don’t talk to her now, I will lose her.”

He was processed later and released on bail. When Geiger checked his driving record a week later, he learned that Nelson’s license had been revoked for two prior DUI-related suspension violations.